


Caffe Sospeso

by arminblossom (syrren)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 08:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syrren/pseuds/arminblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Armin, full of wonder but homeless, meets Eren, willing to share his spare room in interest of a new perspective of life find each other by chance in a cafe, the two agree to live, and eventually, travel the world together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caffe Sospeso

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my modern Eremin fanfic for a very nice [Tumblrite](http://garry-chan.tumblr.com), who won my giveaway. Please enjoy!

 

> " _Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat._ " ~Mother Theresa

 

            There is a tradition that started in Italy over a hundred years ago involving the practice of paying for coffee for those less fortunate. Due to many men being left without after the war, those who still retained their wealth began paying for caffe sospeso, or suspended coffee, to help those in poverty. Since then, the practice has spread worldwide.

            Armin slid the worn wallet from his pocket and took out a few crisp bills to hand to the barista. "Pike place and one suspended," he mumbled, passing the bills onto the counter. Frowning at his quickly emptying wallet, he placed it back into his pocket self-consciously and stood by to wait.

            Perched at a wood table within earshot of the counter, Eren watched disinterestedly as customers came and went. It didn't take him long to realise that people were pretty predictable in their tastes most of the time, and after a while he started to tune out from the orders. There was not much else to do besides people watch considering he could not physically bring himself to complete the homework laid out before him. Just as a laughing and smiling couple passed from the counter, a small blond boy stepped up to order, somehow catching Eren's attention.

            There wasn't anything noticeably abnormal about the boy that he could see. He was rather small and short for the age Eren guessed him to be, with narrow shoulders and a thin frame, bones prominent at his wrists almost uncomfortably. A navy blue shirt hung off his slender frame and he was clad in black skinny jeans, just making his thin body more apparent. Shimmering blond hair the exact shade of sunshine dripped onto his collar and neatly trimmed bangs fell into his eyes, framing a pale face with prominent cheekbones. Slowly, Eren stepped over to his backpack on the opposite chair in attempt to get a better view of the boy, and immediately noticed his bright blue eyes. He quickly slid back into his seat when the blond turned his head slightly, but kept his eyes on the stranger regardless. There was just something… _familiar_ about him.

            "Pike place and one suspended," the boy said quietly, almost too low for Eren to catch it.

            "Suspended? What the--?" Eren muttered to himself, raising an eyebrow.

            Armin waited to the side awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, much to the interest of the brunet watcher. Finally the blond was called, prompting him to grab the offered drink and say thank you with his head down. Executing a smooth pivot, he turned to face the cafe, scanning for a place to sit.

            He usually preferred window seats, perfect to get away from the bustle of the others so that he could daydream, but this day the building was packed. Not finding a place to sit after a few seconds of glassing the crowd he started to turn away, figuring he would go ahead and leave with a sigh.

            "Oi, blond guy! Wanna sit here?" Eren called without thinking. He chided himself almost instantly afterwards, realising that he just gave away his habit of watching the other. But to his surprise, blue eyed boy nodded and sat down across from him silently after the brunet had moved his backpack.

            Blinking up at the stranger who had saved him from leaving, Armin took in his appearance. As he always expected from others around his age, Eren was taller and more solidly built than him, boasting muscles the blond could never imagine himself having. In stark contrast from his rather plain dressing, the brunet wore a colourful band shirt labelled for Pierce the Veil in writing that Armin had trouble reading, a studded belt for stained black skinny jeans, and a black beanie. Choppy chocolate brown hair edged along the beanie and over jade green eyes that were characterised by a clear determination. Grimacing momentarily, Armin tried to place where he had seen this boy before - because he knew he _had_ met him before - but came up short.

            "Er, thanks, for offering me a seat," Armin spoke up shyly.

            "Oh, yeah, no problem. Eren, Eren Jaeger, by the way," the brunet responded, looking away.

            "Armin Arlert."

            Eren fell silent then, and the blond stared out of the window that was farther away than he would've liked. He briefly considered leaving, but it seemed rather rude after this Eren guy had offered him a seat so he kept still, vaguely trying to piece together whether he had met the boy before.

            "Hey, uh, suspended coffee. I heard you order one, I mean, I'm pretty close to the counter so… Anyway, what is a suspended coffee, exactly?" Eren stuttered, trying to not come off as odd.

            "Oh, just some old Italian tradition. You pay in advance for a coffee for someone who can't afford one," the blond explained, then sighed, "I try to do it whenever I come in here, but I fear I won't be able to much longer."

            The brunet bit his tongue against asking why and instead went on, "Interesting tradition; mind if I take that idea from you?"

            "Please do, it’s a good practice to be spread," the smaller boy nodded.

            "Agh, I better get going," Eren groaned after a few long moments, glancing at his watch. "I have class. Maybe we can do this again?"

            "I come here every Thursday around this time." Armin wished a farewell to the rushing boy and continued to nurse his coffee for a while yet.

            Sometime after Eren left, Armin pushed out of the glass door of the cafe and into the cold world, forcing him to shiver and curse himself for not remembering a jacket. The sun had already set and the sky was growing dark, sprinkled with flashing white stars and the bright moon working on its journey of the night. A frigid wind followed the blond home, only being shut out when he had finally reached his current home.

            "Home already, Armin?" Marco asked curiously, looking up from his book.

            "The cafe was packed. It’s difficult to think when people are talking and laughing," Armin sighed, continuing up to the loft to grab a jacket before joining Jean and Marco in the living room. The three shared a one bedroom apartment, Jean and Marco taking the rather large room and Armin taking a small loft that was included.

            "Have you figured out where you're gonna be staying at?" Jean drawled, not bothering to pause the game on his Nintendo 3DS.

            "Jean!" the freckled roommate chided.

            "What? We can't exactly be sensitive anymore, Marco! We're moving out in a couple of weeks, he needs to figure something out."

            "Its fine, Marco," Armin interrupted before the brunet could protest to Jean. "I haven't. I mean, where am I supposed to go? I don't exactly make a whole lot publishing my stories and poems, you guys know that. And who else would be so fine with me being late on the rent?"

            "Maybe Connie and Sasha..."

            "No, Marco, think, the two are a couple, and not exactly quiet about it. Probably make Armin feel hella awkward staying there."

            "Reiner and Bertholdt might--"

            "No, Marco, it’s all right," Armin budged in, growing embarrassed about the whole situation. "I'll figure it out, all right?"

            Wide eyed, Marco nodded and kept silent about the subject from then on. The brunet was well aware of how few options his small friend had, but he knew Armin would survive; he always had in the past. The blond had lost his parents when he was fairly young and his grandfather not long after he had turned eighteen. Scholarships, loans and money he had won through writing contests paid for his tuition and selling his work and odd jobs here and there paid for the rest, though he wasn't exactly leading a concrete life. There was nothing and no one that the blond could fall back on, and it wracked Marco with guilt that they would be leaving Armin for their own lives so easily.

            But Armin would be fine; he always had figured out how to get by.

* * *

 

            "Pikes place and two suspended, please," Armin ordered, proudly handing over a few folded bills the following Thursday. Holding the warm cup in his hand, he started towards the back before noticing Eren. The brunet had noticed when Armin had entered the cafe - had been waiting for it, in fact - and managed to catch his eye when the blue eyed boy turned to the cafe. Setting his cup on the table uncertainly, Armin asked if Eren wanted to sit with him again.

            "I was hoping you would," the brunet grinned, catching the blond off guard.

            "Oh?" Armin gasped, confused on why this familiar stranger even wanted him around.

            "Yeah, I did that suspended coffee thing you told me about. I didn't actually think people knew about this, since you're the only one I've ever heard order it, but the barista told me they're ordered and received here pretty often," Eren affirmed.

            "That's good to hear," Armin smiled back, sipping his coffee.

            "Last time you came here you seemed rather down. Something good happen since I last saw you? You're smiling a lot."

            "Well, pay day certainly lightens the mood."

            "I can agree with that. So where do you work?"

            "Er, not anywhere actually. There are a few magazines that pay for stories and poems so..."

            "And you make enough that way?" Eren exhaled, leaning forward.

            "No, actually, I don't. Only thing that saves me are all the writing contests paying a fair amount of money and whatever odd jobs I can find," Armin sighed, blushing slightly.

            "Er, sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," the brunet spat out quickly, starting to feel guilty for asking.

            "Don't worry about it. A lot of people are curious about it. But, ah, my roommates are moving in a week and I'm still without a place to stay. Wouldn't be surprised if this time next month _I'm_ the one receiving suspended coffees," he said with a staccato laugh.

            Eren was taken aback for a second, worried about why the boy who looked so calm most of the time was actually about to lose a roof over his head. "Are you kidding? I would be stressing hard if I was about to be homeless. How are you even here drinking coffee like your life isn't falling apart?"

            "Stress isn't going to help anything. I'll figure something out. It might be a bit late, but I'll figure something out," the blond shrugged.

            "Yeah, you already have. Look, my parents help me with the rent on my apartment, you want to be my roommate?" Eren offered hastily, green eyes bright as he leaned forward.

            "Woah, seriously? I probably won't be able to contribute money often," the blue eyed boy warned.

            "I just said it’s all right. I got you, man, you'll come and stay with me 'til you're on your feet."

            "Okay, but just, why? I _am_ a stranger to you."

            "Yeah well, for some reason I think we've met before. Either way, you look familiar to me and you don't exactly seem like the serial killer type, so why not? You need a place to stay, I prefer to have people around, it’s the perfect situation," Eren nodded.

            Armin deliberated for a second, the familiarity the brunet felt for him that he reciprocated catching him more than anything else. Shrugging he agreed, "Sounds like a deal."

* * *

 

            "Told you it'd be all right," Armin smirked, tightly packing a few of his shirts into one of the boxes.

            "Didn't doubt you there for a second, there, blondie," Jean grinned, elbowing Marco.

            "Well it isn't exactly normal to get offers for a place to stay for basically free from strangers, that's what I'm trying to say," Marco huffed, pulling the stereo from the computer desk in the loft next to Armin's bed.

            "But still, I got things figured out, and all it took was talking to a stranger. People are nicer than we think, remember?"

            "At least we're not leaving the guy on the streets," Jean observed, tripping over the stereo on his way to the stairs.

            The two were moving due to Marco's recent job offer in his home state. He and Jean had finished their university education the previous year, but Armin was staying on for a while longer to get his Masters of Arts in History, forcing him to stay in the city. And, really, there was no question the he would choose temporary homelessness over quitting his education; Armin was one of those people who could sacrifice comfort for his passions any day. It certainly created complexities, but with the last cardboard box packed with his possessions, his problems were more or less solved for the time being.

            Marco and Jean were courteous enough to drop Armin off at Eren’s before leaving, prompting a farewell between good friends as they went separate ways. The blond took a deep breath before rapping on his café friend’s door, mentally preparing himself for a different life from now on.

            Eren, on the other hand, had been pacing nervously for a while. He usually wasn’t the type to clean often or very thoroughly, but the brunet had spent the night before making the apartment spotless for Armin’s arrival. In the end, Eren figured it was more due to his impatience for the blond’s arrival than him actually wanted to impress the other, because some distant memory imparted to him that Armin was one who could tolerate the brunet’s lazy habits and simply pick up after him while daydreaming absently.

            When the light rap came upon the tan door, Eren started in surprise before racing to the door so he wasn’t keeping the blond waiting. Stepping aside, he waved Armin in and waited as the other took in the tan living room with a faded green couch, newly stained coffee table, and the 47” television with PS4 attached that served as Eren’s pride and joy. A narrow staircase ran up the wall next to the TV and after that there was the kitchen the brunet had spent a good hour or so scrubbing early in the morning between cups of coffee. Everything was stately by Eren’s terms, though the blond immediately noticed something was a bit off about the place.

            “Your walls are bare,” Armin stated simply after a few moments, looking around and catching Eren a bit off guard. The blond turned back to the other and went on, “I’m not sure where I’m sleeping yet, but do you mind if I hang up a world map? I like to keep track of the places I want to visit.”

            “Oh, er, yeah of course; I take it you want to travel the world someday?”

            “Yeah, I’ve been planning to see the ocean and so much more once I’m done with my last year of university. Though, I’ll probably never come home once I’ve gone to see the world, doubt I’ll want to return,” he grinned.

            “The ocean? Why the ocean?” By Armin’s looks, one would figure he would list museums and historical sites he wanted to visit, but instead he was mentioning a place far from the likeness of the academics he enjoyed.

            “I haven’t been able to travel much, but when I was little my grandfather told me all about the Pacific Ocean. He told me how my parents got married along the coast and how the sunset was unforgettable. I want to see it for myself someday.” He paused. “Have you ever seen the ocean?”

            “Well, yeah, my parents used to take me to the beach every summer before I moved out,” Eren said, rubbing the back of his neck.

            “You mean you’ve actually seen it? Is it as pretty as everyone says it is?” Armin questioned, regarding Eren with bright eyes.

            “I suppose so, I mean, once you’ve seen it a couple of times it loses its charm,” Eren explained slowly, to which Armin shook his head and vowed that the ocean would never cease to fascinate him. The brunet shrugged off his answer and looked away, vaguely wondering how the world could still make the shorter boy so excited when it had grown uninteresting to him and many of his friends.

            After a second of silence Eren led Armin to the small second bedroom next to his own upstairs. Considering his lack of possessions, the blond was unpacked for the most part, his life stored in whatever spare furniture they could find and his old twin bed pushed up against the window, in very little time. Not wasting any time, the first thing he did was tack his worn world map to the wall, red ink covering the map with little x's of places he wanted to visit and lists of the most important landmarks scrawled in the margins.

            "Wow, when you said you wanted to see the world, you meant it," Eren exhaled, green eyes wide in astonishment. Leaning forward to identify where the marks were set and the tiny, narrow handwriting he laughed, "You might as well have drawn an x over the entire continent of Europe."

            "But there are places in Europe that I do not want to see as much," Armin responded, confused. He stepped up next to the brunet and pointed to several places on the map, saying, "See, these are the places I want to see the most. There's Tiergarten over in Germany that I need to see in Autumn and a couple of ancient ruins in Greece, the cemeteries from World War 1 in France and Ludlow Castle in England."

            "You've been working on this for a while, haven't you?" Eren shook his head and took a few steps back, causing the blond to turn to him.

            "Well, yeah, my grandfather gave me the map for my seventh birthday and I've been marking places I've read about ever since. There are landmarks from World War 1 and World War 2 and some other wars, places that all the world knows of, and besides all the museums and oceans and seas, there's this restaurant that was across from Tiergarten in World War 2 that was a really hot spot for celebrities; I want to see if it’s still there," he grinned, referring to his reading of _In the Garden of Beasts_.

            "Are you kidding? When I was seven I was asking for some expensive toy or other," Eren scoffed. Armin shrugged and fetched a notepad from one of the boxes, setting it out on the nightstand close to where the map hung.

            "My family was poor so my grandfather gave me the map and told me stories of some of the places he had seen and wanted to see to help me start listing the places I'm going to visit."

            "And have you seen any of the places he told you about yet?"

            "Only one: my parent's graves in my hometown. I crossed it off in green," the blond told him quietly.

            Flinching at Armin's tone, Eren grimaced and peered over at him. "Things haven't, ah, gone well for you, have they?"

            "How so?"

            "I mean, your family has always been so poor and you lost them all at a young age from what I can gather. Most people wouldn't label that success exactly," the brunet listed off hesitantly.

            Armin paused from straightening out his new room and met the other's pitying green eyes. "You have grown up with everything you wanted; you've gained recent technology and travelled to the ocean several times. You admitted to me that your TV was the best possession you own and I can tell you have lost interest in the world by how you describe your visits to the ocean. Yet here I am with little and I am still fascinated by the world around me, everything I own has fond memories and sentiment. Things haven't gone well for you, have they?"

            The brunet opened his mouth to speak but ultimately remained quiet, not finding words to respond with.

            "I know that it may not seem like it when I have been homeless, penniless, without a family, and I have been ashamed of my poverty at times I must admit, but I would prefer it to your life. I think it would be far better to go without than to lose wonder in the world," Armin sighed, starting to grow uneasy about the brunet.

            Eren bit on his bottom lip for a second and looked away, not having expected the blond to point out to him how different they were in values. "But how do you, ah, how are you still able to like the world so much? It’s not exactly that great of place."

            Armin shook his head slowly, knowing the issue fairly well, "You need to stop listening to society and the media; listen to people, struggle, the world, for the same idea being spat out by society just wears it all away. It does no good to let others shove ideas down your throat like the media does; it’s so much more interesting to find the world on your own."

            "Who taught you that?" Eren asked after a few moments, starting to realise that the shorter boy was only trying to help.

            "My grandfather and books and my own experiences. I've met a lot of people who have lost interest in the world and seem to rely on the media to entertain them instead. Seems rather boring to me. Mother Theresa taught that being unloved is a greater hunger than poverty, and I bet not loving and dreaming and hoping in return starves one just as much. Perhaps I can tell you why these places are so interesting to me, why the world holds so many dreams for me? There are so many intriguing places and people and cultures outside our own, you just have to find them," the blond offered, lightly touching his fingertips to his notepad filled with information on the landmarks he wished to visit.

            "Yeah, that sounds, perfect to me, actually. I need a new life, a better one this time," Eren said softly. "Thank you."

            "Of course," the blond smiled, the joy of the prospect of having a new friend to discover the world with even reaching his ocean blue eyes.

            "And I know exactly where to start," the brunet started, grabbing Armin's hand in his own and pointing to a dot on Italy. "We'll see Naples where caffe sospeso started and order two suspended coffees where ever we can along the way."


End file.
